The first appearance of divine eyes
On the banks of Qujiang Pool, the water was calm, with only the crisp sound of chess pieces falling onto the board and Zhou Yu's gentle voice.
“The Source Seed…” Zhou Yu picked up a white chess piece, not looking at the chessboard, but at the shimmering surface of the pond dyed red by the setting sun. “This thing is indeed related to Western legends. According to the Jiangdong Secret Scrolls, in ancient times, the energy of heaven and earth was unbalanced. A sage took the essence of the Fusang Divine Tree and the essence of Kunlun Jade Marrow, mixed them with the fire of the Phoenix Nirvana, and refined three ‘Source Seeds of Life’, which were scattered throughout heaven and earth to strengthen the foundation and maintain life. Its shape is like warm jade, and its quality contains the power of creation. It is the manifestation of the origin of life in the world.”
He paused, placed a piece on the board, and continued, "However, its power is too pure, making it easy to attract covetousness. It is said that 'Ink of the Night' learned from some unknown source that a source seed may have been lost near Chang'an. Their creation of the 'Celestial Pivot' is probably not just to open the 'Gate of the Void Realm'. Their deeper purpose may be to stimulate, pollute, and ultimately control that source seed with destructive energy, twisting it into their own controllable 'eternal energy'."
Yi Xing's hand holding the chess piece paused slightly. Stimulating life with destruction, controlling the very source with pollution… this was indeed the extreme and insane style of "Ink of the Night"!
"Then what the governor meant by 'surrounded by wolves'..." Yang Yuhuan asked softly.
Zhou Yu smiled slightly, but his smile carried a hint of coldness: "Such a divine object, it's not just 'Ink of the Night' that's moving at the mere mention of it. The demonic races beyond the Great Wall, the barbarian tribes of the Northern Wilderness, and even some ancient families that have secluded themselves from the world... have probably all set their sights on Chang'an. Now that the 'Ink of the Night' project has been thwarted, and the whereabouts of the source seed are even more mysterious, this pool of water will only become more turbulent."
He looked at Yi Xing: "Young Master Yi Xing, the Source Seed is your chance for salvation; but for the world, it is a source of turmoil. Have you thought clearly about the cause and effect of this?"
"Power itself is neither good nor evil, just as a river can nourish all things and also devour living beings; the real choice lies in the heart of the one who wields the blade and the original intention when wielding it."
Yi Xing calmly placed his black stone, his voice clear. This statement clarified his understanding of the neutrality of power and his determination that his pursuit of the Origin Seed was not for personal gain.
A hint of admiration flashed in Zhou Yu's eyes: "Very well! Since that's the case, I'll offer another word. It's said that the Origin Seed is connected to the life force of the earth's veins. Although its aura is hidden, at certain times, it may resonate with certain... beings with extraordinary perception. For example, those born with divine eyes, or... those who possess special bloodlines." His words seemed to have a hidden meaning.
A natural-born divine eye? Yi Xing's heart skipped a beat, recalling the renowned figure from the Canyon Major Crimes Unit…
Just then, a slightly noisy commotion came from outside the water pavilion, as if guards were stopping someone.
"Make way! Make way! This is a case handled by the Dali Temple! Can't you see my 'Heavenly Eye' is pointing the way? Ouch, this broken rock tripped me up!"
A young man's voice, tinged with a hint of nonchalance and complaint, rang out, seemingly out of place with the somber atmosphere.
A young man dressed in a blue and white outfit, with a headband embroidered with strange patterns tied around his forehead, was frantically pushing away the Wu guards who tried to stop him. He had an exquisite waist tag hanging from his waist, and a majestic black slender dog with a hint of helplessness in its eyes was following him.
It was none other than the last core member of the Canyon Major Crimes Unit, Erlang Shen Yang Jian! However, his current appearance was quite different from the majestic and holy True Lord in the legend; he was more like a clumsy and energetic young man.
"Yang Jian?" Di Renjie's voice came from behind, sounding somewhat troubled. "How did you find your way here?"
Yang Jian finally squeezed into the waterside pavilion, dusted himself off, chuckled, and first clasped his hands in a fist salute to Zhou Yu: "Governor Zhou, sorry to bother you!" Then he turned to Di Renjie, pointing to his forehead (the third eye beneath his brow seemed to twitch slightly): "Boss, my 'heavenly eye' suddenly started twitching wildly in the yamen just now, pointing me to a 'big clue' here! It hasn't been easy for me to follow this trail!"
His gaze swept across the chessboard, then curiously looked at Yi Xing and Yang Yuhuan, finally settling on Yi Xing. He leaned closer, even sniffing the air: "Hmm? There's something very special about you... like... a flame about to go out but held aloft by something. Strange, very strange..."
His rash and direct action caused Yang Yuhuan to frown slightly, while Pei Qinhu (who was watching from a distance, though he hadn't entered) clenched his fists even more.
Yi Xing, however, was not angry. Instead, he understood—the "person with divine eyes" that Zhou Yu had mentioned earlier had arrived. He calmly met Yang Jian's probing gaze: "I am Yi Xing. Brother Yang's so-called 'special feeling' may be related to my congenital deficiency."
“Congenital deficiency?” Yang Jian scratched his head, his third eye seemed to open slightly again, flashing with an almost imperceptible golden light. “No, no, it’s not just weakness… there’s also a little… um… like something that’s just been touched… something very pure and warm…” He tried to describe it, his vocabulary lacking.
Di Renjie interrupted him: "How dare you be so rude! Yang Jian, what brings you here in such a hurry?"
Yang Jian then remembered the important matter and his expression turned serious (although he still looked somewhat unreliable): "Oh right! Boss, I found something! About the core crystal fragments of that explosion before, and those small crystals you brought back... I consulted ancient books and used my Heavenly Eye to sense them, and found that the residual energy fluctuations pointed to a certain place!"
"Where?" Everyone perked up.
Yang Jian pointed triumphantly to the west: "West of Chang'an, deep in the Longshan Mountains! The exact location is still unclear, but it's definitely there! And..." He lowered his voice and said mysteriously, "My Heavenly Eye also 'saw' that besides that warm energy, there are several very annoying and cold auras also active there! Probably accomplices of those rats!"
The clues are finally becoming clearer! The source seed might be in Longshan! And the remnants of "Ink of the Night" have already gone there!
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